About Elizabeth McTavish

Elizabeth McTavish entered the realm of the work of The Counselling Foundation of Canada in the late 1960s and served as Director of Counselling and as Executive Director of the Foundation for 25 years. Elizabeth was robbed of her own career fulfillment by the early onset of Alzheimers. She retired in 1995 and on March 31, 2008 passed away peacefully.

McTavish achieved much in her work. As an early pioneer in career development, she believed an individual’s potential to succeed in their choice of life work was rooted in early childhood. She encouraged The Counselling Foundation of Canada to support programs like Adventure Place in Toronto and in-school career tools, to encourage young people to develop decision-making and life skills. These initiatives were researched and developed and are still in use across Canada. McTavish, through practical research and grant recommendations, encouraged community colleges to offer practical counselling programs. Under her leadership, the Foundation invested in university, college and secondary school guidance and counselling services.

She believed that community-based organizations, because of their close proximity to individuals in their communities, could play a significant role in providing career counselling and employment preparation services on the front lines.

Since 2006, on an annual basis, community-based counsellors from across Canada have been assisted to attend Cannexus. The bursaries established by The Counselling Foundation of Canada in Elizabeth McTavish’s name will once again assist a limited number of community-based counsellors to participate in the Cannexus conference.